Wedbush Securities Inc. Buys 808 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,718 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after buying an additional 808 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $803,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 29.3% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 23,082 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,760,000 after buying an additional 5,232 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Marathon Petroleum by 15.5% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 64,503 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $10,508,000 after acquiring an additional 8,640 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,171 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 1,825 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MPC opened at $121.02 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $147.41 and its 200 day moving average is $150.58. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $112.74 and a 12-month high of $219.74. The stock has a market cap of $37.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.71. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 2.45% and a return on equity of 12.07%. The company had revenue of $33.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is 36.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Evan Bayh acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $133.70 per share, for a total transaction of $133,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 69,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,078.50. This represents a 1.46 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ricky D. Hessling bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $134.72 per share, for a total transaction of $269,440.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 12,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,638,464.64. The trade was a 19.68 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $175.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $183.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $159.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $193.00 price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.29.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.